Match Report

BACKGROUND

Hyde were still not statistically safe from relegation before the game started, whilst Altrincham were in limbo awaiting an announcement about the manager's position. The game was preceded by a parade of the new Altrincham home kit and a choice of two away kits; the third possible away kit, a natty orange number, which was pictured in the match programme and was to be seen in the Club Shop, was curiously not paraded on the pitch. The pre-match presentations saw the unexpected return of Kevin Ellison, on leave from Filbert Street, to hand over mementos to the sponsors. Another Premiership player present was in the Altrincham Directors' box; Gary Neville of Manchester United.

Altrincham ran out comfortable winners against a Hyde side which, in the absence of Simon Yeo, showed little spark up front and made too many errors at the back. Shortly after spurning a good chance through poor control, Danny Murphy made amends by getting onto a flick forward from Thornley before the keeper could gather it and slid the ball into the empty net (25 mins). Rod Thornley scored the second after a missed tackle by Paul Taylor set him free.

The Alty striker did well to avoid another challenge before slotting the home expertly from close range (62 mins). Hyde rarely troubled Stuart Coburn though they did improve in the second half but the Robins will be pleased to have recorded their first clean sheet in eight league games. Hyde are now safe from relegation due to results elsewhere.

For Hyde, top-scorer Simon Yeo was out with a knee-ligament injury picked up against Bishop Auckland, but John Foster was back after injury and was named as captain. Ex-Robins in the Hyde side were Paul Robertson and Martin McDonald. Altrincham reduced Landon to the bench and with the injured Porter restored to fitness, there was no place for Gary Scott. Stu Scheuber also remained unchosen and top-scorer Steve Finney was once more no more than a substitute, whilst wing-man Paul Edwards took to the field with an ominous bandage around his left knee. Altrincham played their normal 4-4-2 with Farley and Porter at full-back, and Maddox partnered Bowker at centre-back. This allowed Jason Gallagher to adopt a right-midfield role. Up front, Rod Thornley was partnered by Danny Murphy.

Altrincham nearly had a dream opening when, after only a minute's play, a punt from Coburn was too high for Thornley but fell for Murphy; however the Hyde keeper Acton saved Murphy's shot well. Otherwise the opening few minutes comprised tentative probings of the respective defences until, after 7 minutes, a Hawes cross found Craney in a threatening position just inside the Hyde box.

Craney's ball, forward and to the right, was not read by Murphy and ran for a goal-kick. Altrincham's captain, Steve Hawes, was to have a good afternoon and he soon played in Gallagher, on the right. Jason got the better of Matt Taylor and got in a cross to Thornley, but Rod's control let him down and the ball ran to the keeper. Craney was the provider of the next perceptive pass, a through ball for Murphy, but Danny was off-side (9 mins), as he was again two minutes later from a Hawes pass. A third Altrincham offside was given after 12 mins, this time against Thornley, as Altrincham strove to turn their possession into goals. A foul by Craney on Hall gave the visitors a free-kick 25 yards out but Paul Robertson's ball into the box was punched out by Coburn (13 mins). The pattern of off-sides continued with Murphy caught for the third time in the game after only 14 minutes.

A foul on Steve Hawes gave Altrincham a free-kick, taken by Coburn. After Gallagher had won and lost possession, the ball fell for Murphy who passed to Thornley. His shot brought a good save from the Hyde keeper; although firmly hit, the ball had been directed too near to Acton (16 mins). Steve Porter and Martin McDonald were then involved in an incident inside the Altrincham half which almost degenerated into a fight. Amazingly Mr Shaw, who was tolerant throughout, chose not to book either player for their scuffle. He likewise took no action after Edwards, having beaten McDonald was scythed down by Foster.

A stoppage then ensued for treatment to Band who had gone down off the ball (21 mins) and from the restart, Altrincham won a corner on their left, taken by Craney. Soon afterwards, however, Hyde won a corner of their own after a miscue by Gallagher in midfield had set Foster and Matt Taylor going forward. Robertson, normally a master of the corner-kick, produced a poor effort this time, however. Altrincham should have taken the lead shortly afterwards when Murphy dispossessed Matt Taylor on the half-way line and headed for the defenceless keeper in the Hyde goal. However, Murphy knocked the ball too far forward as he entered the box and Acton made a good save (23 mins). However, Murphy soon made amends when he ran on to a neat ball played forward by Thornley. This time Murphy reached the ball before the keeper and ran on to put it into the unguarded Hyde net (25 mins).

Hyde were proving to have little threat going forward and the Altrincham lead was deserved. A cross from Foster, easily held by Coburn was the limit of their threat at this stage. Rain now started to fall steadily as a Porter ball into the box just evaded a stretching Murphy at the back post (32 mins). A fine clearing header by Farley should then have been better used by Murphy but it ran out for a goal-kick (33 mins). Next, Ian Craney turned neatly and entered the box from an acute angle to the left of goal. He went for glory and shot firmly but high and wide across the face of goal.

A fine ball from Hawes then released Thornley but his cross hit a defender and won a corner. Hawes's corner was fumbled by Acton, under a challenge form Murphy, in increasingly heavy rain. Soon, Gallagher played a fine ball forward to Murphy and he, in turn, found Thornley, but the ball got under Thornley's feet. However, it came out to Murphy again and he shot but only across goal. Salmon was caught offside as Hyde attempted to relieve the pressure (40 mins). Then, Murphy was caught offside yet again (41 mins) but he soon won a corner on the Alty left. Hyde survived this and then a Gallagher foul on Salmon in the Hyde half gave the visitors another breather, as he needed treatment, and they reached half-time just a goal in arrears.

With the rain still steadily falling, Hyde replaced Band by Critchley at the start of the second half. Altrincham continued where they had left off but an early Gallagher cross was deflected to the Hyde keeper. Following a handball by Craney 25 yards from his own goal, Hyde then began to enjoy some sustained possession of their own for the first time in the game. Grant's free-kick following Craney's handball was dropped by Coburn but caught at the second attempt. However, the Alty back-four were coping capably with Hyde's increased pressure. As Edwards sought to break, he got past Foster but the defender chopped him down (53 mins).

Next, after Bowker had cleared up a Hyde move, he found Murphy, who in turn set Gallagher off on an overlap up the right wing. Gallagher won a corner against Matt Taylor but this was cleared (56 mins). Thornley then span the ball past a defender to Murphy but it ran to the Hyde keeper off the Alty man. Salmon did then find the Alty net but the flag had gone up some time before for off-side (58 mins). A foul by Farley led to a Hyde free-kick, taken by Paul Taylor, which came to Coburn off Hall. Hyde's best move of the game then followed but ironically was countered by Alty's second goal immediately afterwards. After Porter had been dispossessed and slipped, Hall on the right fed Grant who should have done better than miscue his effort to Coburn (61 mins). Rod Thornley almost immediately scored when his cross cum shot from the right hit the junction of cross bar and far post with the keeper beaten (61 mins). From the ensuing goal-kick, Acton's kick was weak and found Gallagher just inside the Hyde half on the right. Gallagher advanced and played the ball forward to Thornley near the edge of the box. Paul Taylor dived in from Thornley's left and missed his tackle. Thornley advanced into the box and evaded a challenge from Beeston before planting the ball past Acton into the keeper's left corner (62 mins). The characteristic Thornley cartwheel celebration followed.

Immediately Gallagher did well to win a corner on the right off Matt Taylor. Hyde tried to get back into the game and in the 67th minute Porter conceded a corner to Grant. Edwards charged down the attempted cross following the short corner but after a Hyde throw, Hyde won another flag-kick. Coburn punched out Robertson's corner for a third one in as many minutes for Hyde. From this a muddle in the defence allowed McDonald a clear chance but he muffed it and gave Coburn a goal-kick (69 mins). Thornley, not for the first time, slipped when in a promising position and the heavy rain did indeed make the surface slippery. In their next move Danny Murphy yet again triggered the offside flag (71 mins). As well as scoring goals, Thornley also chases lost causes and in one such case he won the ball on the far left from Matt Taylor. His attempt at goal from a sharp angle was held by the keeper.

A foul on the lively Thornley gave Hawes a free-kick on the left and although this skidded off a defender for a corner on the right, Bowker made a justifiable point to the referee that he had been impeded by Hall as he attempted to get onto the end of Hawes's kick. McDonald's mis-pass to Murphy nearly resulted in a bizarre goal as Murphy instinctively back-heeled the ball and made a creditable but involuntary shot at goal. Paul Edwards, who had picked up a knock in training, gave way to Dickie Landon (74 mins) and as the rain briefly stopped, the Golf Road End supporters emerged from the covered Popular Side to take their places behind the Hyde goal at the uncovered Hale end. It was next Thornley's turn to be flagged offside (76 mins) before Matt Taylor was substituted by Colin Hall for Hyde with 12 minutes left.

Hyde centre-back Paul Taylor had an afternoon of mis-passes and he committed another when he gave the ball to Thornley. Thornley advanced menacingly but against three defenders he did well to win a corner, as Beeston's intended back-pass narrowly missed his own goal (79 mins). Porter's left-wing corner went for a second corner, this time on the right, taken by Hawes but Paul Taylor headed clear. Hyde should then have scored when Grant found Colin Hall in oceans of space advancing on goal. The sub got the ball past Coburn but the retreating Adam Farley hooked the ball away before it could go into the net (80 mins). A controversial incident then occurred at the other end. Thornley got round Paul Taylor who, once more had lost possession.

The Hyde man pulled back Thornley and should have been sent off as he was the last man. However, he only saw a yellow card from Mr Shaw (81 mins). Taylor then headed Porter's free-kick over the bar for a corner, which Hawes hit straight into the side netting. Colin Hall then got free again on the right and his shot seemed to hit almost as much as be saved by Coburn for a Hyde corner on the right. Hyde's Robertson soon cut in from the left and with his unaccustomed right foot, shot at Coburn, who gathered the ball comfortably, low down (84 mins). The rain was now lashing down once more as Altrincham rode out the closing stages. The closing stages saw Landon, who barely got into the game, slip his man just inside the Hyde half, only to be tripped. Hawes's free-kick found Murphy's head but the ball ran to the keeper.

This result cemented Altrincham's seventh place in the league and only a bizarre final result can rob them of that position. The win was thoroughly deserved but Hyde did not force Altrincham to the heights to achieve it. Without the predatory Yeo, Hyde looked a very disappointing side. The Altrincham caretaker management team of Bernard Taylor and Graham Heathcote has now taken 14 points from its 8 games in charge. We should know by the time the team next takes to the field, for the final game of the season at Hucknall, whether they are to continue in post or whether they will make way for a new manager. Today's official Man of the Match was Danny Murphy but both Rod Thornley and Steve Hawes also played very well.